Social Media

Facebook’s vice president of advertisement recently received heavy criticism for his opinion on the issue of Russian-bought ads and the previous US election. Rob Goldman tweeted last week that swaying was not the main goal of the said ads since majority of Russian ad spend had happened after the election. Goldman however, made an apology to Facebook staff after and said that the tweet was his own view and he should have probably had it reviewed internally before tweeting. Goldman’s tweet was in direct contradiction with special counselor Robert Mueller’s recent indictments where 13 Russians had been charged with election […]

A Facebook senior account executive revealed last Saturday that the company will be verifying the identities of election ad buyers later this year using postcards sent via the US mail service. The verification measure is in response to criticisms on the failure of Facebook to prevent Russian interference in the 2016 US elections. U.S. law prohibits foreigners from donating or contributing anything of value, or making any expenditure in connection with any federal, state or local election in the United States. According to Facebook’s global director of policy programs Katie Harbath, users who mention a candidate in their ads will […]

It was reported that Instagram had conceded to the demands of Russia’s internet censor and had taken down controversial content implicating billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Both Instagram and YouTube had been ordered by the censor to remove the posts made by prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny from their platforms by Wednesday, or face banning. However, the deadline has already passed but YouTube had taken no action whatsoever. The video in question which shows Deripaska on deputy prime minister Sergei Prikhodko on a yacht with deputy prime minister Sergei Prikhodko has already been viewed more than 5 million times. Source: BBC

Earlier this week, European Commissioner Vera Jourova remarked that Facebook, Google, and Twitter should increase their efforts in bringing their user terms in line with EU law. The justice commissioner said that as advertising and commercial platforms, the tech giants are subject to the same laws as offline providers and will face sanctions for non-compliance. She also complained that the companies were taking their time in making their platforms safer for users. However, a spokesperson for Facebook responded that they already put measures to inform users about content removals even before, which they will be expanding later this year. Meanwhile, […]

Around one million signatures had already been gathered this week opposing Snapchat’s latest redesign. According to the company, the changes were meant to to separate interaction between friends and brands, but majority of the platform’s users found the new layout difficult to use. With the new update, users will only be able to access brands and influencers by swiping right. Petition creator Nic Rumsey said that a lot of users had to use VPNs just to be able to access the older version of the platform that didn’t have the new features. Celebrities including Chrissie Teigen and Kylie Jenner have […]

An altercation between a top Russian businessman and a prominent opposition leader may result to a ban of YouTube and Instagram in the country. It is said that billionaire Oleg Deripaska has made moves to take down material which implicated him in claims of corruption uploaded by Alexei Navalny on both platforms. Russia’s internet censor has already blacklisted the material, and if Navalny or the both US tech companies do not remove or block access to the imagery in question, ISPs will act on the matter themselves. However, a Russian Association for Electronic Communications spokeswoman said that it is impossible […]

Facebook recently urged users to use the Onavo Protect app to protect their security, especially when using unsecured networks. However, the social networking giant did not reveal that prior that it owns the app, and that the information collected by the app is shared with the company. According to the app’s privacy policies, it shares with Facebook and others user data such as apps on the device, usage statistics, websites visited, and the amount used, and Facebook can use this data to track users even if they are not using the service. It was noted that a user would have […]

According to research released by eMarketer last Monday, Snapchat may have an edge over Instagram in terms of capturing a younger demographic, and it seems that marketing companies may be favoring the former because of this. Digital marketing chief Aaron Shapiro of Huge says that businesses now feel obligated to spend on Snapchat, rather than on Instagram, because of its greater reach to the millennial generation. According to eMarketer, Snapchat will be adding 1.9 million users within the age group this year, while Instagram will only add 1.6 million. According to experts, other advantages of Snapchat over its rival is […]

It was recently reported that former Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy had filed a case against Facebook to obtain information regarding activities on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s account. It is said that Rainsy is seeking the information to confirm allegations regarding fake likes on Sen’s account, his use of the platform for death threats, and the use of government funds for ads. According to Rainsy’s attorney, Richard J. Rogers of rights group Global Diligence LLP, the case raises questions Facebook’s stance on human rights abusers who manipulate elections, Hun Sen had been a target of criticism from Western countries for […]

Last Thursday, Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor said that it will be auditing Facebook’s compliance with Russian legislation in the second half of the year. It was reported that Roskomnadzor chief Alexander Zharov had met with Facebook executives in Moscow earlier this week to discuss the social media giant’s compliance with the country’s laws. Zharov adds that Facebook has agreed to share necessary information with them during the comprehensive audit. Source: Reuters

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This blog is the embodiment of a vision we have at Disini & Disini (D&D) of an IT empowered citizenry where we, as a people, harness information available through the internet to bridge the gaps where there may be lapses. As part of our advocacy, we take full advantage of the accessibility of cyberspace by developing this blog.